Many people think that money or assets they store in a bank safe deposit box is guaranteed to be safe. With the security of a bank vault and the requirement of two keys to get into the box, what could go wrong? But while a safe deposit box may deter ordinary thieves, it isn’t immune to the reach of the government. And if recent developments in Europe end up making their way over to our shores, the assets in your safe deposit box could be up for grabs.
The Italian government is looking to drum up additional tax revenue to close its growing fiscal gap. The government believes that hundreds of billions of euros worth of money and assets are held in safe deposit boxes and it wants to tax those assets. So it has proposed a tax of 15% on assets held in safe deposit boxes.
While it may be that much of that money in Italy is black market income that hasn’t been taxed, it’s highly unlikely that all of it is. And if Italy’s move is successful, other governments may try to do the same thing, with safe deposit boxes being seen as a quick source of easily taxed assets.
If you’re currently holding money or precious metals in a safe deposit box, your assets could be up for grabs. The question is whether you will do anything about it, or just give in to the inevitable. If you’re serious about keeping your retirement assets safe and secure, you owe it to yourself to look into a gold IRA today.
Just like a traditional IRA, a gold IRA defers taxation until you decide to take a distribution. That allows you to make amazing gains for years or decades before having to pay taxes. And it keeps your assets safe and secure during that time.
Being as safe as money in the bank isn’t a useful expression anymore because governments are increasingly looking at banks and bank account holders as a piggy bank they can raid at any time. Don’t let yourself fall victim to that: open a gold IRA today.
This article was originally posted on Goldco.
